errno 39 (EL3HLT): meaning and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: Level 3 halted

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERROR_HANDLE_DISK_FULL	Win32 error	Windows
KERN_LOCK_UNSTABLE	Kern return	Mac
ippStsEvenMedianWeight	Intel Ipp Status	Any
ENOTEMPTY	errno	Linux
EDESTADDRREQ	errno	Mac
ENOLCK	errno	Windows
RDR_FILE_SYSTEM	BugCheck Code	Windows

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EDESTADDRREQ	ENOLCK

EL3HLT

What “Level 3 halted” tells you

EL3HLT is retained in the Solaris/illumos errno number space as value 39. The current Oracle catalog supplies the level-state label but no modern system-call condition, and the name is outside the POSIX errno set. That makes provenance more important than guessing a present-day device meaning.

The status is specifically a halt indication for level 3. EL3RST represents a reset of that level, while EL2HLT refers to a different level. Those distinctions matter when decoding an old protocol stack, driver interface, trace file, or compatibility table that intentionally exposes these values.

Diagnostic approach

Locate the statement that assigned or returned errno 39. A current generic syscall failure should normally have a documented errno in that syscall's manual page.
If the number came from serialized telemetry or another host, verify the source operating system before applying the Solaris symbolic name.
For ported code, search its own headers and error-mapping layer for EL3HLT; do not infer that modern Solaris networking uses a numbered “level 3” state.

References

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